


The Thieves Guild

by Amethyst97Skye



Series: The Northern Star of Skyrim [3]
Category: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: Giants, Secrets
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-14
Updated: 2016-12-14
Packaged: 2018-09-08 11:27:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8842912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amethyst97Skye/pseuds/Amethyst97Skye
Summary: Aster, the Thieves of Skyrim, and the Nightingales, go way back, but knowledge of such events are rare treasures. Enjoy.





	1. Breezing By: Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Did you ever wonder why Karliah decides to go out on a limb and trust you, after she SHOT you? I did. Aster didn't.

Karliah entered Whiterun with a string of other opportunists, no doubt looking to seize a last minute deal before the stores closed. She had forgone her armour in favour of common clothing, complete with a matching cowl and a pair of gloves, and only one gloriously painful memory surpassed just how exposed and vulnerable she felt.

The guards did not so much as bat an eye at her, a blessing if there ever was one, and she silently thanked Nocturnal before breaking off from the main crowd, skirting down the side streets that hugged the crumbling wall surrounding the city. She passed the back door to _War Maiden’s_ , evident by the gently swaying sign and the hammering of metal in the hissing forge, and proceeded eastward passed an assortment of small houses. Several had windows, and even doors, open, and Karliah acknowledged the distinct lack of Shadowmarks on the frames with a mixture of relief, guilt and dread.

Discarding future intentions, Karliah slipped around a gaggle of cheering children as they ran abound in colourful tunics; one in particular caught her attention, a little girl who stooped to remove her shoes, only to gaze upon them as if they were made of diamonds and gold. Karliah knew the feeling. A shout from across the square snapped both Karliah and the child out of their stupor. The latter halted at the precipice between shadow and sun, suddenly turning back towards Karliah.

_Damn you, Mercer!_

Quick as a fox, Karliah slid ever deeper into the cascading shadows, stealing herself from the child’s sight. Seconds later, she was gone and Karliah could breathe, but she held her breath once more as she approached her destination.

The building was entirely unremarkable, but the door Karliah now stood within arm’s reach of had recently been stained, the hinges oiled and the lock replaced. It looked like fine work, expensively so, and, with only a moment’s hesitation, Karliah knocked.

Heavy footsteps resounded inside, but it was a woman who opened the door – a women, not a man - dressed in steel armour, intricately adorned with traditional Nordic patterns. She had the height, stance and eye of a warrior, but Karliah remained stationary. Her short black hair was clean, as was her fair face, although her fingers were splashed with something that smelled vaguely like garlic.

 _Fixing dinner then_ , Karliah summarised. She could not see the Nord mixing potions, not clad head-to-toe in steel.

“I’m sorry to intrude,” she said by way of greeting, licking her lips as her nerves got the better of her. _It’s not that hard. Just ask, already._

“It’s no problem. How can I help you?”

“I, er… I met a friend of yours, on the road. Aster?”

She waited for the fallout, ready to flee at a the first sign. It never came.

The Nord’s eyes sparked, with what Karliah knew to be recognition, her words prompting the woman to stand taller and open the door wider, a strong arm drawing her inside while she stepped out.

“I’ll be right back. Stay inside. Don’t open the door for anyone.”

A plain steel dagger was folded into her palm and the door all but slammed shut before Karliah could even think to protest. As her mind whirled, her eyes darted about the interior. The Nord had indeed been busy preparing dinner, and it smelled mouth-wateringly delicious to Karliah’s half-starved senses. To ignore the pangs in her stomach, she took to drinking in the homely warmth prevalent throughout the house.

_Breezehome, indeed._

Before her sat a ground fire, common in Nordic housing, and a steadily bubbling pot. Various cabinets, bookshelves and cupboards lined the walls. Behind a small sitting room was a cosy dining table, built to seat four; Karliah stepped around the staircase that led up to a walkway, and peered inside the two rooms that flanked the table. To the left was a small bedroom, suited for a child.

Something clenched in Karliah’s heart and she bit back tears; the heavy smell of lavender and, to a lesser degree, Troll fat and nightshade, from the other room – a small alchemy lab – aided her endeavours. Circling the stairs and climbing until she stood half way between floors, Karliah could see a single bedroom and, through the doors of a recently erected wall, a double bed that sat directly above the fire.

Karliah had time only to descend the stairs and sit, unconsciously remaindering herself that there were no windows, a single door, and that she was only armed with a steel dagger, when the doors opened. The child from before, the little girl, a Nord with short, brown hair and matching eyes, bounded into the room calling, “Mother! Mother! Moth – Hey, you’re not my mother!”

Behind her, the Nord warrior closed the door. “Sit, Lucia. Let the woman explain.” She turned to Karliah, and blanched. “Good Gods! What happened?”


	2. Breezing By: Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karliah claims to have spent twenty-five years on the run, and I can't imagine she asked for help much. But, she trusts Enthir, so... is any friend of Enthir's a friend of Karliah's?

For several minutes Karliah was forced to fend off their attention and questions, though she gratefully accepted a tankard of water – “Mother installed a pump all of our own!” – and a bowl of stew, before she explained herself. The warrior, Lydia she learned, listened gravely as Lucia cheered, gasped and booed in all the right places.

It was embarrassing to admit that, after all she had endured, a giant - a _sleeping_ giant - had nearly, _nearly_ killed her.

Enthir’s letter sat folded inside the pocket Karliah had sewn inside her dress, his instructions and advice leading the Dunmer from her fateful encounter with said giant, to her 'chance' encounter with the Thane of Whiterun – he would pay for forgetting to add that minor detail – to how the Nords had refused her lodging, and how the _Thane_   had extended her hospitality but was off searching for something-or-other to do with an Elder Scroll and, thus, unable to see her home in person.

It sounded incredibly far-fetched, now Karliah told her well-rehearsed story out loud, but it seemed almost normal news for Lydia, and Lucia seemed extravagantly pleased she had a new story to tell her friends, and the Companions of Jorrvaskr. Karliah had no doubt that the ‘danger’ sign would still be carved on the doorframe of Jorrvaskar. Lydia stoked the fire when she shivered. It was not a memory she wanted to revisit, or an experience she wanted to repeat.

“Mother saved the Huntress when she first arrived. Did you know that? A giant was attacking the farm outside, and mother shot it down, saving the Companions, and the Huntress said she could join, and that they would be sisters, and –”

“Calm down, Lucia. Our guest needs rest,” Lydia soothed, smiling fondly. “See if you can’t find any of those healing potions you made yesterday.”

“OK!” she chirped, hopping down off her seat to skip next door, humming a ballad Karliah recalled from her rare dealings with innkeepers.

“Sorry, she can be a bit of a handful. But she means well.”

Karliah nodded, non-committedly, thinking of a question Delvin once posed to her - _Do you know what life's greatest illusion is, Gale?_ \- and the answer was on the tip of her tongue, but -

“I’m sorry. I never asked your name."

Lucia was frowning, looking between Lydia and their guest, with something akin to guilt on her face, the lovingly warm red glass, triangular vial clutched between her fingers making it impossible for her to wring her hands.

“…Gale,” Karliah replied, after a heartbeat.

“Gale. Gale," Lucia repeated, smiling. "That's a pretty name."

"Let's let our guest get some rest, Lucia," Lydia scolded, not unkindly, "and I think it's passed someone else's bed time," she steered, guiding the yawning child towards her bedroom. "Feel free to take Aster's bed," the warrior shot over her shoulder, "I'm sure she wouldn't mind."

It should not feel wrong, not to her, for Karliah had done far worse, but this... this was different.

"Goodnight, Gale," Lucia waved, and Karliah found herself smiling as she waved back.

Lydia offered her one in return. "Sleep well, Gale. I’m sure Lucia will wake you for breakfast tomorrow." She was chuckled as she ascended the stairs

Karliah did not follow straight away, choosing instead to watch the embers die. When she finally retired, for a time, Karliah simply lay abed, surrounded by soft, finely treated furs, still ill at ease but, for the first time in Nocturnal only knew how long, she was certain of her safety. The Guild had no presence within the city, Lydia was clearly a capable warrior, if Lucia’s stories were anything to go by, (even with all the exaggeration), and having spent the best part of an hour listening to Lucia read, after enjoying her first home-cooked meal in... longer than she cared to admit, it had been comforting, reassuring, in ways she could not describe. Yet, something gnawed at her.

Fear, hope... Envy.

_Fool. Their kindness will be your undoing, **Gale**._

Lucia's potion was eating away at her torn and bruised muscles, alleviating her pain inch by glorious inch until Karliah almost felt like she was floating. When Lydia had finally taken off her armour, having already locked the door and doused the fire, she had sat awhile and shared her Thane’s humble beginnings, a tale Lucia could have repeated verbatim, but she was spellbound all the same.

Karliah could practically taste the story beneath the veil of truth Lydia cast, rather expertly for a simple warrior, but she did not pry. She had no means of repaying them, but her offer to teach Lucia a new potion had been accepted readily. Lydia, it seemed, was all too eager to play host until she recovered, which promised to be several days, at least.

_Any friend of Aster’s in a friend of mine,_ she insisted. _Skyrim needs more people like her, and if you can show a bit of kindness to a stranger you pass, then I will consider my investment in your care well spent._

_Kindness...?_ Karliah turned over, staring stubbornly at the wall. _Kindness gets you killed._


End file.
